The rapid advancement of technology and its integration into everyday tasks are changing the demands of skill development. Burning Glass Technologies analyzed skill demand through jobs postings from across the country and developed a new framework of skills titled “New Foundational Skills of the Digital Economy.”

According to the report, “The New Foundational Skills” break into three groups:

Business Enabler Skills allow the other skills to be put to work in practical situations, and include project management, business process, communicating data, and digital design.”

Using Burning Glass’s Labor Insight tool, Charlotte Works performed an analysis of demand for each of these skill areas in Charlotte’s labor market. Similar to the results of the report, we found that specific skills within these three areas are in high demand in the Charlotte area. Employers are increasingly interested in candidates with communication, collaboration, and project management skills. In fact, almost two-thirds of jobs posted by Charlotte-area employers in 2018 requested at least one of these skills.

Charlotte Works promotes these types of skills to jobseekers in Mecklenburg County. Working Smart, an essential skills curriculum developed in partnership with local businesses, teaches middle school, high school, and college students, and adult jobseekers skills found in the “human skills” sector, including communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. We also provide jobseekers short-term training scholarships where they can choose programs that teach digital and/or business skills such as data analysis, software development, and project management are among.

To learn more about how Charlotte Works is promoting skill development in the community, click here.

To see all of the skills that make up the New Foundational Skills framework and read Burning Glass’ full report, click here.